GLBT

An eastern Iowa school district superintendent has apologized after an event included potentially offensive messages about homosexual and transgender people, according to a report from an Waterloo TV station.

Republican presidential candidate Newt Gingrich declined Friday to outright reject a new law legalizing same-sex marriage in Washington state, saying if it is approved by voters it will at least be enacted “the right way.”

The school board in Minnesota’s largest school district tried once again Monday to craft a replacement for its policy that requires teachers to stay neutral when issues of sexual orientation come up in class.

The Minnesota Court of Appeals on Monday revived a lawsuit challenging the state’s law against gay marriage, ordering a district judge to take another look at the case just months ahead of what’s expected to be a bitter fight over a constitutional ban on gay marriage.

The teachers union in Minnesota’s largest school district urged its school board Monday night to drop a proposed policy on handling controversial topics in the classroom, saying educators should be trusted to mediate student discussions about sexual orientation and other issues.

Minnesota’s Campaign Finance Board dismissed a complaint against the Archdiocese of St. Paul-Minneapolis and Archbishop John Nienstedt over the distribution last year of a DVD critical of same-sex marriage.

Some teachers in the Anoka-Hennepin school district say new guidelines which encourage the discussion of controversial topics in the classroom could help improve the atmosphere for gay and lesbian students.

Campaign-style ads that discuss the pros or cons of gay marriage but don’t specifically mention a 2012 vote on a Minnesota constitutional amendment will require less disclosure about who’s financing them, a state board determined Thursday.

Same-sex marriage might seem like a straightforward issue: You’re for it or against it. Yet for the field of Republican presidential hopefuls, it’s proving to be an awkward topic as public attitudes change and more states legalize gay unions, the latest being New York.